The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Medallion, beads, and spindle whorls

1000–1532 (medallion)

Central Andes, North Coast, Chimú

(medallion)
bronze, copper, silver
Diameter: 6.4 x 0.8 cm (2 1/2 x 5/16 in.)
The Norweb Collection 1951.173
Location: Not on view

Description

This medallion and dozens of smaller beads and spindle whorls arrived at the museum strung on modern cord. Pierced with a hole at the top, it could have been suspended from a necklace or attached to a backing, such as a textile. It comes from Peru’s north coast and was made in the late pre-Hispanic period; the dates of the smaller beads are less clear.
  • ?-1951
    Emery May Holden Norweb [1895-1984] and Raymond Henry Norweb [1894-1983], Cleveland OH, 1951, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1951
    The Cleveland Museum of Art
  • Conserving the Past for the Future. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-May 6, 2001).
  • {{cite web|title=Medallion, beads, and spindle whorls|url=false|author=|year=1000–1532 (medallion)|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1951.173